


Under the Stars

by grantaire_the_cynic



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Camping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-17
Updated: 2015-08-17
Packaged: 2018-04-14 19:35:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4577205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grantaire_the_cynic/pseuds/grantaire_the_cynic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <a>vivelafrance–vivelavenir</a>
</p>
<p>Les Amis on a camping trip<br/>Someone<br/>Write a thing with me</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under the Stars

The Amis had been talking for ages about going on a trip together. All of them. But, for one reason or another, it was always being put off. Now, most of them were in their last year of school and spring break was going to be their last chance.

“Alright, if we’re going to do this, now is the best time to talk about it.” Enjolras said at the next meeting. They had finished the actual meeting quite awhile ago and all of the people who wander in and out of their meetings had left. 

“Is this official meeting business, Enjolras? Shall I include it in the minutes?” Combeferre asked, a smile threatening the corners of his lips.

“No, the meeting is over. I believe this is what Courfeyrac calls “Social friends and stuff hour” or something like that.” He teased. “So, summer starts soon and if we’re going to do a trip, now is the time. Joly will start residency soon and will have zero time, Courf, Ferre, and I graduate in three weeks and, Bahorel, well, what are you doing?”

“I’m walking!” he said, grinning. “I took a couple online classes and finished all of my requirements. I am not, however going to law school. I thought about it, but hell no. I’m opening a bar with my brother.”

“Nice one Bahorel!” Feuilly said, slapping his back, “So you’ll hire me, right? Because I have to take a break from school. I ran out of financial aid.”

Several people offered their sympathies, but Feuilly just shrugged them off. Bahorel assured him that he would be the first hire.

“Okay back to business. Since as of next year, only Prouvaire and Pontmercy will be in school, this is kind of the last chance we have. Since real life will kind of prevent us from doing much traveling together.” Enjolras said. Grantaire muttered something that sounded like “not if I can help it.”

“Count me out, I’m going with Cosette to visit her father all summer. He wants “quality father/son-in-law bonding time” or something like that.”

“Dammit Marius!” Courfeyrac said, pretending to glare. “Now we can’t do it.”

“Yes you can, you don’t need me there. Besides I’m the newest member to routinely hang around after the meetings. Just go. We’ll be able to do this again, regardless of how dramatic you guys like to be. And maybe I can join you for a couple days, depending on our schedule.”

“Guys, focus.” Enjolras said. cutting across the chatter. “Where are we going?”

Several suggestions were immediately shouted out: Florida, Hawaii, California, a cruise, and several other tropical locations.

“Guys, tone it down, we don’t all have that kind of cash.” Feuilly cut in. Grantaire quietly offered to make up the difference so Feuilly could go anywhere. Feuilly just rolled his eyes and insisted he was not going to accept that.

“We could do an Amtrak ride- just pick a place and ride there and back. You see really cool scenery.” Jehan suggested. Several people considered this.

“Not bad, but what about camping?” Bossuet suggested. “It’s cheaper, but you still get away for awhile and there’s good scenery. We could go to the dunes. Plus if we do it right, we’ll have a shower and better toilets than the train. And better food.”

“As long as there’s plenty of bug spray and sunscreen, I’m in.” Joly said, leaning against Bossuet. “Chetta’s coming too. Just so you know.”

“Camping? In what? I’m not sleeping on the ground.” Grantaire said, eyeing Bossuet. “And I hate driving in Indiana. None of them know how to drive.”

“Campgrounds have cabins sometimes. And my aunt has an RV a few of us could borrow. Besides, who said you have to drive?” Courfeyrac said. Grantaire flipped him off.

“Actually, so does my dad,” Combeferre said, leaning back in his chair, thinking. “Enjolras, don’t you have one in your family too?” Enjolras nodded.

“Okay that’s three. My dad’s can sleep four people. Courf, Enjolras- how many can you hold?”

“My aunt’s sleeps three comfortably. Five if you like a crowd. I’ve been camping in Enjolras’- it sleeps two. His parents got a cabin and we had the RV.” Courfeyrac said. Combeferre nodded, jotting something down.

“I think we have the same number going as comfortable space, so that actually works out pretty well. What I need to know is what kind of hook ups each RV needs. My aunts has electric and water. Some are just electric. So we’ll need that information. Then we’ll need to decide who’s staying with who. Obviously Enjolras and R will be in his RV, since it sleeps two and none of us want a repeat of New Years.”

“Hey! We thought you were asleep! I was under the blanket!” Grantaire protested.

“Back on track. I can hold four, so how about me, Courfeyrac, Bahorel, and Feuilly. Then Jehan, Bossuet, and Joly can have the third.”

“How come R and Enjolras can have an RV to themselves to fuck in, but Joly, Chetta, and I can’t?” Bossuet asked, frowning. “And besides- you could probably put five in yours. There’s ten of us, not nine.”

“Right, I forgot to add Chetta to my list. Okay, Jehan, you can come in mine- it could hold five if someone doesn’t mind sharing the bigger bed. Sorry Bahorel, you can’t have that one. There, now everyone can sleep or have sex in peace.”

“Speak for yourself.” Courfeyrac said. “Some of us like our alone time if we don’t have a partner.”

“Oh come on, get creative.” Feuilly said, shaking his head. 

“My parents’ has both,” Enjolras said, “And it hitches to my dad’s truck, so we can use that to haul our extra stuff too. Though, we’ll have to buy firewood at the site. Almost all campsites have banned outside wood due to ash borers. But we’ll still need to pack food and our regular essentials.”

The rest of the plans came easily. All three RVs were secured for the week and the group met at Combeferre’s parents’ after Enjolras finished his meeting with his professor.

“Alright, we’ll try to caravan there, but you know Friday night traffic. Thanks for that, by the way Enjolras. We could have left at two if you hadn’t insisted on meeting with your professor. Enj, we graduated. Let it go. It was one B on one paper.” Enjolras glared at him. “Anyway, it’s just under an hour and a half. Make sure you don’t miss any tolls- they’ll find you….”

“You have fourteen days, Ferre, chill.” Courfeyrac interjected.

“….and make sure you put the address into your GPS so we end up at the right park. It’s a mile from the beach, so we get the full camping experience: woods, campfires, the works. And don’t crash. These are borrowed vehicles.”

“Yes mom. Thanks for the advice. Also I’m driving my family’s RV, even though I was assigned Ferre’s. My aunt would kill me if she found out anyone else drove Betty. Yes, that’s the vehicle’s name.”

It took another twenty minutes and a quick trip to the corner store for them to get on the road. Grantaire fiddled with the radio and settled for classic rock. He propped his feet up on the dash board, reclining his chair a bit.

“Wake me when we get there. I hate toll way traffic, and I hate Indiana drivers. Not as bad as other states, but still.”

Enjolras rolled his eyes. He knew it was going to be longer than an hour and a half, thanks to Friday evening traffic. In fact, it took over three for him to get there. He’d lost the other two before they crossed the state line, and they had hooked up Enjolras’ RV before either of the others arrived. Combeferre was next, he relayed the message that Courfeyrac got stuck behind a line of trucks and was half an hour behind them. Grantaire was stretched out in a lawn chair, bottle in hand, by the time Courfeyrac pulled in. He was grumbling under his breath. 

“Damn drivers turning right from the left turn lane, made us miss the fucking light. Who gave him a license? Fucking hell.”

Grantaire chuckled and pressed a beer into his hands. “You relax, we’ll set up the camper.”

Once they had all the campers set up, Enjolras and Combeferre went off to get them some firewood and build a fire. Courfeyrac grabbed the bag of marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate bars. Joly followed him with skewers. 

“Smores? Really?” Feuilly said, raising an eyebrow, but still taking a skewer and a marshmallow. “What are we twelve?”

“Shut up you know you love them! And what kind of camping trip would we be on if we didn’t make them? Just wait until you see the campfire irons my aunt sent us with.” Courfeyrac said, stabbing his own marshmallow.

“Nothing cooked in those ever works.” Grantaire said, squishing his two marshmallows between two chocolate bars. “They just end up a soggy mess.”

“You’re supposed to use graham crackers, R.” Enjolras scolded, handing him the box.

“I hate graham crackers.”

“R, did you bring your guitar?” Jehan asked eagerly.

“Who wants to know? I know where this is going and I’m not sure I like it.”

“Oh shut it, you know you like to play. And we like listening.” Jehan said, laughing. His perfectly crafted smore was oozing in his hand.

Grantaire finished his food, then gave in and grabbed his guitar. He tuned the strings quickly then started playing. They sang along with what ever he strummed (except for ‘Tie Me Kangaroo down’, no one knew that one.) until it was well after midnight. They slowly began retreating to their campers until it was just Grantaire and Enjolras. 

“You can see so many more stars here than back home.” Grantaire murmured, carding his hands through Enjolras’ hair. “I mean, you can see everything. It’s so peaceful. Sometime when you’re off of work we’re going to the mountains. Somewhere in the Rockies. You can see so much up there. Or Utah, they have some good, clear places. Or we’ll go down to Big Pine Key Florida- you can see the Southern Cross there in the winter. It’s the only place in the US you can do that. Or Hawaii, or Alaska, see the Northern Lights.”

“I didn’t know you were that into astronomy, R.” Enjolras murmured, looking up at the sky. He vaguely knew some of the constellations. He paid attention when they brought in that inflatable dome with the star projections. But it was just vague knowledge.

“I wanted to be an astronomer growing up. I would have majored in astrophysics, but my math skills are atrocious and I would have failed out. And besides, I can paint the stars.”

“You could do it, if you wanted. You could learn.”

“It’s not about learning, Enj. I could learn. I get the formulas, but once you throw in the numbers, I just can’t figure it out. Numlexia is a bitch, you know? No one thinks it’s real or serious. They just assume you’re lazy.”

Enjolras looked up at him. “I’m sorry, R.”

“Don’t be. I love my job. I work when I want, I get to create things instead of looking at things that already exist. It’s really a better working environment for me. As much as I love all things space, I don’t like the idea of desk work or rigid hours.”

Enjolras nodded. “Makes sense. Hey- did you bring your camera? You could do some cool work here.”

Grantaire’s face lit up and he darted off. Five minutes later he had his camera set up on it’s tripod. He fiddled with the settings and plugged in the remote shutter. Grantaire bit his lip as he surveyed the sky. 

“Enj- star trails or no star trails?”

“What? Uhm, I don’t care?”

Grantaire laughed. “Should I just let it go for a few minutes and get the motion of the Earth, or should I calculate how long to leave the exposure so it looks like I’m looking up at the sky?”

“Both? Go for both. Why not? How do you calculate that, by the way?”

“I use an app. Some people do it by hand. You divide something by five hundred.” Grantaire played with the settings of his camera again, clicked the shutter, then walked back to Enjolras.

“Both is good. I can make a project out of this trip. Put it up on my site. Someone will want to buy the pictures.”

Enjolras smiled. “For all you pretend to care about nothing, you are very into your job.”

“I never said I care about nothing. I just only care about the important things.”

Enjolras poked him. “That was kind of poetic. Jehan will write you a sonnet.”

Grantaire snorted and went back to his camera. It was another hour before he finished and packed up his things. Enjolras went into the camper while Grantaire was packing his things. He went in to find Enjolras in the bed waiting for him. 

“Well, I like this surprise.” he said, grinning. He didn’t bother to load the pictures onto his computer. That could wait. Right now, there was an Enjolras in his bed and he needed Grantaire’s full attention. 

It was raining when they woke up in the morning. Enjolras moved to get up, but Grantaire pulled him back. 

“If it’s raining we’re spending most of the day in bed. Because we can.” he mumbled. Enjolras laughed, but tucked himself back up against Grantaire. 

It was around noon when they heard a knock on the door. 

“I know you guys are in there!” Courfeyrac called, “you can’t stay in bed fucking all night and day!”

Grantaire groaned. “Courf! I can stay in bed all day just laying here! And don’t be jealous!”

Enjolras opened the door and Courfeyrac came in, soaking wet. He tossed him a towel. 

“Still raining, I see.” Enjolras said, sipping his mug of coffee. He had made sure to pack his coffee maker. He poured two more mugs. 

“R, coffee’s ready.” he tossed a pillow onto Enjolras.

“Fuck off!” he groaned. Grantaire stretched and went into the bathroom.

“He’s not a morning person.” Enjolras said, chuckling. 

“That we all know.” Courfeyrac said, sipping his coffee. “Why is it raining?” he whined. 

“Well, water evaporates, condenses, then falls as rain.”

“Fuck off that’s not what I meant. I meant that it’s spring break, we’re a mile from the beach, and it’s fucking raining! What are we supposed to do?!”

“Hang out, play board games, I don’t know, drink and watch bad movies?”

“I plan on editing those photos, posting them to my site, then blowing Enjolras on that counter.” Grantaire said as he came out of the bathroom and towel dried his hair. Enjolras choked on his coffee. 

"R!" 

"What? We talked about this earlier." 

"Courf is here!" 

"Yeah, and if he doesn't want to witness that, he'll leave." 

"What if I do want to witness it?" Courfeyrac asked, wiggling his eyebrows. 

"Then I'll be forced to pluck out your eyes." Enjolras deadpanned. 

Courfeyrac sighed. "Fine, fine, I know when I'm not wanted. I'll go challenge my camper to Cards Against Humanity or something." 

"Just for the afternoon, Courf. Enj and I will join you guys for dinner and spend the rest of the afternoon with you guys. We haven’t had a day in for ages."

Courfeyrac nodded. “Fine, but I expect you both in our camper at five pm sharp.”

 

It rained until Tuesday night. They passed the time hanging out in the largest camper playing board games, watching movies, and stalking Grantaire’s art website. And, of course, innuendos and nudging at Enjolras and Grantaire. Then at Joly, Bossuet, and Musichetta. 

Tuesday night the went out and enjoyed another bonfire and Grantaire had his camera out taking pictures of his friends.

On Wednesday they finally went out to the beach. Courfeyrac grabbed his inflatable pool chair and darted out ahead of them. Grantaire checked to make sure he had sunscreen for Enjolras. 

They camped out on the beach in a secluded spot, spreading out several blankets, an umbrella, and three coolers of bottled water and other beverages. 

Grantaire pulled out his camera and started taking pictures of the beach and the lake. When he finished he tucked his camera away and stretched out on the blanket. Enjolras stretched out next to him, lacing their fingers together.

“This is nice, isn’t it?” He asked, turning to face Grantaire.

“Did you put on sunscreen?”

“yes mom.” Enjolras shook his head.

“Well, I have to check. You burn like toast set just a notch too high. And I’m going to ask every two hours if you’ve reapplied.”

Enjolras nudged him and Grantaire wrapped his arms around him. They both dozed off, enjoying the warm sun.

Grantaire woke up to a bucket of water being poured on him and Enjolras. He sputtered and jumped up, cursing loudly. 

“What the fuck Joly?! What was that for?!” he bunched up his soaked towel and threw it at Joly and Bossuet. “You’d better have a couple dry ones or we’re stealing yours!”

“R, we didn’t come here to nap! Now get your ass in the water! You too Enjolras!”

Grantaire chased Joly around the beach and tackled him to the ground. They wrestled around for a bit while Bossuet and Enjolras took fake bets on who would win. Grantaire pinned Joly and demanded an apology (jokingly of course). 

Grantaire strutted away, smirking. He grabbed Enjolras and yanked him towards the water. 

“Come on, you heard Joly. We have to get in the water. He’s so mean.” Grantaire teased. Enjolras ran up to the edge of the water, tested it with his toe, then walked in. Grantaire followed him, making sure to splash as much as he could. 

They stayed on the beach until dusk, then made the trek back to their campers. Grantaire had a wet towel slung around his hips and another over his shoulder. Enjolras rolled the cooler behind him. Inside the camper, Grantaire made a pained noise.

“Enj, you didn’t reapply sunscreen did you?”

“What? No I forgot after the second time. I....shit.” he caught sight of his arm. Then the burning feeling set in.

“Don’t worry, I brought the kit. I know how you forget to reapply.” he guided Enjolras to the kitchen stool and started gently slathering on the aloe lotion. Enjolras grabbed a water bottle and sighed. 

“I should have listened to you. This happens every time.”

“Enjolras, you burn if you think about the sun. Don’t worry about it.” he finished with the lotion then shoved a sheet into the tiny freezer. “Keep drinking water, take something, and the sheet will be cold soon.”

 

Marius joined them the next day, another spent on the beach, though Enjolras opted to stay under the beach umbrella. He rotated cool blankets from a cooler, trying to keep his skin cool. Grantaire joined him often, keeping sunscreen and lotion handy, until one of their friends came to drag him away. 

The week ended quickly, with perfect weather, and Marius crashing in the large camper. They all sat around the fire on the last night.

“This was a good idea." Feuilly said, stabbing a hot dog. “It’s nice to get away and just hang out with friends. We get too caught up in our daily grind.”

“Agreed.” Ferre said, nodding. “And sometimes we forget to do non-meeting things. It’s nice to be together in a non meeting capacity.”

“That was a very fancy way of saying ‘Enjolras you are too work driven and drag us down with you’. Kidding!” Courfeyrac said.

“Well, we all get carried away.” Joly added. “Especially around this time of year.”

“So, I asked Cosette’s dad if I could marry her.” Marius said, softly. Everyone turned to look at him.

“AAAaaaaaand?” Courfeyrac asked. 

“And he said he’d be happy to call me his son-in-law. So now I have to figure out to propose to her.”

“Marius, how ever you do it, she’ll be happy.” Musichetta said. “Just make it personal. She’ll love it.”

Several people raised their drink in agreement.

“Congrats, man. That’s a big step.” Grantaire said. He was laying on the lawn recliner, Enjolras tucked up against his side. 

It was the clearest night so far. Grantaire had insisted on taking several photographs before they built a fire. 

“It’s so beautiful.” He whispered, looking up at the sky. Even with the glow of the fire, they could still see countless stars. 

“So are you.” Enjolras whispered, nuzzling his neck. 

Grantaire laughed softly. “So, I think Marius had a good idea. You think I should talk to your dad?”

“Let’s talk about this later, R. I just graduated. I’m not ready for this conversation yet.”

Grantaire kept his face neutral. He was trying to form a response but Enjolras beat him too it.

“And before you start beating yourself up about it- I’m not saying no. I’m just saying not now. But I definitely want to have this conversation in the future. Okay?”

“Okay.” Grantaire kissed him. “I can do later. Later works.”

 

Grantaire sighed as they packed up. 

“Is there a way we could make money camping like that? Because it was so much better than our daily grind.”

“Says the man who’s worked from home for the last three years. But I agree. It was nice. We need to make sure we take a vacation every year- even if it’s stay....”

“If you say ‘staycation’ I’m breaking up with you.” Grantaire threatened.

“...home. You know I hate that word, R. Anyway, even if we stay home and lock up our computers and phones for a week.”

“Don’t lock up the phones- our friends will break down our doors. But yes. I agree. We’ll make sure to plan it.” Grantaire said, sliding into the passenger seat. “I want to go someplace darker. I want to get all of the star shots you’ve caught me drooling over.”

“We will, R. Next year we’ll go to Hawaii or Alaska, okay? I think either of those sounds great.”

“I’m holding you to that.”

Grantaire didn’t care where they went, as long as they could get as many of their friends as possible, and as long as he could cuddle Enjolras under the stars.

**Author's Note:**

> I've always wanted to go someplace dark and take pictures of the stars. But alas, I live in Chicago. I need to make friends with someone who owns a boat...


End file.
